Removable adhesive tape

Abstract

A removable adhesive tape comprising a highly extensible and substantially inelastic backing and a layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive. The backing has a high tensile strength, has a lengthwise elongation at break of at least about 150% with less than about 50% elastic recovery after stretching. The adhesive can be a normally tacky and pressure-sensitive adhesive and is coated on at least one surface of the film backing. The adhesive is preferably highly extensible, does not separate from the backing during stretching, and has higher cohesion than adhesion to any suitable substrate. After being applied to a substrate, the adhesive tape of the present invention becomes firmly bonded, but can be easily removed without damaging the substrate by simply stretching it in a direction substantially parallel, i.e., less than about 35°, to the surface of the substrate.

We claim: 
     
       1. A hook assembly adapted to be releasably adhered to a surface of a substrate, said hook assembly comprising a support portion having opposite first and second major surfaces;   a hook portion having a proximal end attached to said support portion along said second major surface, and a distal end spaced away from said second major surface; and   a tape having first and second adhesive surfaces, said second adhesive surface being adhered along said first major surface of said support portion and said first adhesive surface being adapted to be adhered to the surface of the substrate, said tape being highly extensible and said hook assembly being removable from the surface of the substrate to which the assembly is adhered by stretching said tape to at least about 150% of its initial length at an angle no greater than about 35° from the first surface of said support portion, and said tape including a tab portion projecting past the first major surface of said support portion and adapted for manual engagement to afford manual stretching of said tape.   
     
     
       2. A hook assembly according to claim 1, wherein said hook portion includes a first part adjacent said proximal end projecting generally normal to said second major surface of said support portion, and a second part adjacent said distal end projecting generally parallel to said second major surface of said support portion. 
     
     
       3. A hook assembly according to claim 1, wherein said hook assembly includes a layer of non-adhesive material adapted for manual engagement extending over the portions of said adhesive surfaces on said tab portion. 
     
     
       4. A hook assembly according to claim 1, wherein said tape comprises a highly extensible, substantially non-recoverable plastic backing having opposite first and second major surfaces, a first layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive along the first surface of said backing having said first adhesive surface by which the hook assembly can be adhered to a substrate, and a second layer of adhesive having said second adhesive surface and adhering the second surface of said backing to the first surface of said support portion. 
     
     
       5. A hook assembly according to claim 4, wherein said tab portion comprises a portion of said backing free of adhesive projecting past the first major surface of said support portion. 
     
     
       6. A hook assembly according to claim 4, wherein said layers of adhesive extend along said tab portion projecting past the first major surface of said support portion, and said hook assembly includes a layer of non-adhesive material adapted for manual engagement extending over the layers of adhesive on said tab portion. 
     
     
       7. A hook assembly according to claim 4 wherein said plastic backing has an elongation at break of from about 150% to 1200% and a Young's modulus of at least about 2,500 psi but less than about 72,500 psi, said backing having a tensile strength at break sufficiently high so that said backing will not rupture prior to the removal of said backing from the surface of the substrate to which the hook assembly is adhered.